In today's educational landscape, afterschool programs, especially those funded under the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative, play a crucial role in the holistic development of students. To ensure these programs are effective and aligned with their goals, administrators must make I decisions based on evidence. In this blog post, we will explore the concept of informed decision-making in 21st CCLC-funded programs and how EZReports afterschool management software can empower program administrators.
Read MoreMaking Informed Decisions in 21st CCLC Afterschool Programs: Leveraging EZReports Software for Success
Measuring the Success of Your Afterschool Program
There is little doubt that afterschool programs have improved student outcomes wherever those programs are available. However, showing their value in concrete terms can be challenging.
A data-centric approach to measuring the effectiveness of your program provides the definitive evidence you need to secure funding and show parents the program is helpful. Also, measuring success gives you the data to implement improvements wherever your program falls short of expectations or needs updating.
Read MoreAfterschool Management Tips for Dealing with Staffing Challenges
Staffing afterschool programs was a challenge before the pandemic. The same issues continue to impact the system as the world begins its return to normal. What are those issues? For employees: low pay, little flexibility, and burnout. For employers: an inability to find staff, which leads to decisions such as lowering qualifications and raising salaries to compete with other industries like food service and retail.
Read MoreTips for Retaining Afterschool Staff
Afterschool programs play a pivotal role in helping kids improve their academic performance. Students can also build learning and social skills while partaking in activities that expand their educational horizons. What started out as afterschool centers – in the early 1900s - where children would wait for their parents is today a crucial component in extracurricular learning.
Read MoreHow to Allocate Funds at Your Afterschool Program
No matter the funding source for your afterschool program, you must make the best use of every dollar. Those depending on subsidies and grants have a particular challenge with funding allocation, and scarce funding reduces your ability to offer specialized learning opportunities and experiences.
Read MoreOptions for Transportation to Afterschool Programs
The logistics of moving students from multiple schools to your facility can be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. It does present a number of problems you have to solve. How much should you budget for transportation? What forms of transport make the most sense for your demographic? The answer to these questions requires a little research that can be streamlined with the assistance of afterschool management software.
Read MoreAfterschool Program Management: Best Practices
You wear many hats as an afterschool coordinator, administrator, or programmer. You are the activities coordinator for the children in your program, the expert parents rely on to keep their children safe and engaged.
Read MoreCloud-Based Software's Biggest Benefits
When it comes to security, accessibility, and convenience, cloud-based software is the best way to go. Cloud-based software provides benefits you won't get with on-premises solutions that will save you money and give you the added security your afterschool program requires.
Read MorePrioritizing Safety at Your Afterschool Program
Parents expect any program for their children to prioritize safety above all else. As an afterschool administrator, you expect the same of your program.
Read MoreUsing Afterschool Management Software to Increase Staff Productivity
In today's world, it's all about productivity, even in your afterschool program. Getting the most out of your time is crucial, especially at a time when it's difficult to hire employees or cover sick leave.
Read MoreTips for Marketing Your Afterschool Program
Marketing your afterschool program is essential for building relationships and retaining students. As families move into new communities, one of their first priorities is often childcare, especially for older kids.
Read MoreHow to Connect Your Afterschool Program with Local Businesses
Does your afterschool program have any connections with local businesses? These connections can include offering services to the employees, supporting work and education programs, and providing advocacy. In return, local businesses can help increase awareness of your afterschool program - and hopefully registration, too!
Read MoreHow Community-Based Organizations Can Use Afterschool Management Software
Afterschool programs and other community-based programs have specialized administrative needs that can require more resources than are available to manage and maintain. Afterschool management software can save precious resources while generating required reports and using real-time data to make program decisions.
Read MoreIntegrating Your Management Software: EZChildTrack and EZReports
One of the most useful features of our afterschool management software is its ability to easily share student, parent/adult, and emergency contact, and attendance data with our childcare management software. We designed EZReports and EZChildTrack to integrate seamlessly, providing unparalleled performance that streamlines operations and removes administrative drudgery.
Read MoreUsing Data to Plan Your Afterschool Program's Future
The Next Generation Afterschool System Building Initiative is but one program hoping to strengthen the systems supporting high-quality afterschool programs for low-income children and teens. Using data as a foundation for planning, management, and strategy, these types of programs provide recommendations for afterschool program data systems.
Read MoreMaking Afterschool Software Work for You: Evaluators
With so many afterschool programs receiving funding from grant-providing associations, the role of the evaluator is essential to program success. Grant-giving programs want to know that the programs they support are meeting certain goals and rely on evaluators to monitor afterschool programs.
Read MoreMaking Afterschool Software Work for You - Program Directors
Afterschool programs provide essential childcare for busy working parents in your community. Hundreds of families need these programs to care for their children once the school bell rings. However, these programs offer much more than just recreational activities for students waiting for their parents to collect them. They are educational venues where students can learn, grow, and network with other students in safe, secure environments.
Read MoreMaking Afterschool Software Work for You - Site Coordinators
Afterschool managing software is designed to make trying times easier. It helps administrators manage and oversee student and staff activities and ensure they meet educational objectives. The most useful management software has tools that benefit all levels of administration and staff, from teachers to directors to site coordinators.
Read MoreOvercoming Challenges with Afterschool Management Software Tools
For families with working parents, especially those where both parents work full time, afterschool care is a necessity. Afterschool programs keep children safe and supervised while also furthering their education. However, many program administrators and schools are overwhelmed with the number of daily challenges in these programs. Having the right afterschool management tools is essential in overcoming obstacles and increasing organizational productivity.
Read MoreWhat to Look for When Buying Afterschool Management Software
Finding the right afterschool management software can be a tedious task. After all, you are investing in technology that must deliver measurable results and profitable ROI. The software should also have helpful resources, tools, and features essential to your program. Most of all, it has to run your afterschool program efficiently, quickly, and within budget. Where do you even start?
Read More5 Tips to Get Parents Involved in Your Afterschool Program
Student performance is a critical education component. Analyzing test scores and grades helps administrators better understand the needs of their students. Assessments also play a pivotal role in program structure, which improves connections between teachers and afterschool providers.
Read MoreHow Outcomes Tracking Can Help Improve Your Afterschool Program
Student performance is a critical education component. Analyzing test scores and grades helps administrators better understand the needs of their students. Assessments also play a pivotal role in program structure, which improves connections between teachers and afterschool providers.
Read MoreSupporting Afterschool Staff During COVID-19
The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence reported a study in April of 2020 with the results of a teacher survey during the COVID-19 crisis. The survey asked teachers to report the three most frequent emotions they felt each day.
Read MoreTips for Running a Successful Afterschool Program
According to a Department of Justice Studies survey at Rhode Island College, afterschool programs are a critical factor in fighting delinquency, reducing dropout rates, and mitigating the chances for teen pregnancy.
To make your afterschool program successful, you have multiple options to boost student attendance, retention, and performance. Read on to learn more tips for running a successful afterschool program.
Read MoreThe Benefits of Web-Based Software for Grant-Funded Afterschool Programs
Directing an afterschool program is an arduous task that can bring new challenges every day. Suppose one of those challenges is completing documentation and reporting to comply with grant requirements. In that case, web-based software can simplify and streamline fulfilling those responsibilities.
Read MoreUsing Web-Based Software to Comply with Federal and State Reporting
While children spend nearly a quarter of their waking hours in school, policy leaders promote further learning opportunities through afterschool programs. Many of these programs are funded through grants and other resources from the federal, state, and local governments.
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